An Essex acute trust's e-board scheme, which replaces the traditional ward whiteboard and staff paper handover notes, could become the basis of a national model.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS trust has already rolled out its e-board to all 20 wards and is now in the process of embedding the model into its new patient administration system.

The trust's deputy chief executive Adam Sewell-Jones says: "I wouldn't be surprised in five years' time if we see this [e-board model] across the whole of the NHS. I can't say that it will be just our initiative but I think we have demonstrated that it is of benefit to clinicians and we are pushing our suppliers and influencing the way that these [e-boards] are used in the future."

The e-board is transforming the way the wards, and the trust, gather and track patient information. Digital data collection is reducing the time taken to capture information and share it with non-ward-based professionals. The expectation is that it will also increase the time nursing staff spend with patients rather than on administrative tasks.

Once it is embedded into the patient administration system it will also offer clinicians the chance to check other patient information – such as blood test results – at the same time.

Sewell-Jones says rolling out the e-board across the trust was easy, with no opposition from staff: "The roll out was relatively straight forward because people knew its value. People saw it as a very positive thing and they were chomping at the bit to get it."